1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in carpet cutting tools and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a carpet cutting tool for the cutting of installed or laid carpet for facilitating the removal thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many carpet installations the carpet is glued or otherwise secured or adhered to the surface of the floor upon which it has been laid. In order to remove the carpet it is necessary to cut the carpet the entire length of the room at spaced intervals of approximately ten inches. The normal manner in which this is accomplished by presently available tools comprises the use of a relatively small hand tool having a cutting blade generally similar to a razor blade, but much stronger, and crawling along the floor simultaneously with the cutting operation. The disadvantages of this procedure will be self-evident.
There have been many carpet cutting tools developed for facilitating the cutting of carpet. Examples of these tools are shown in the Knauf U.S. Pat. No. 2,282,729, issued May 12, 1942, and entitled "Cutting Tool;" the Mittelstaedt U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,414, issued June 24, 1952, and entitled "Fabric Cutter;" the Brennan U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,283, issued Sept. 17, 1957, and entitled "File Fabric Trimming Device;" the Lockwood U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,106, issued Oct. 6, 1959, and entitled "Hand Tool for Removing Floor Coverings;" the Anderson et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,725, issued Jan. 14, 1975, and entitled "Carpet Cutting Tool;" the Ott et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,636, issued July 18, 1978 and entitled "Cutter;" the Quenot U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,421, issued Aug. 1, 1978, and entitled "Blade-Holding Cutting Device;" and the Batby U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,216, issued Sept. 19, 1978, and entitled "Combination Tool." Most of these devices are concerned with the cutting of carpet or other fabrics which have not yet been installed, and the Lockwood device does not eliminate the disadvantage of crawling along the floor during the carpet removal operation.